If Noah's Ark existed will it have any impact on hot the world was created

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I don’t know what the Catholic Church’s stance is on Noah’s Ark, whether the story can be taken literally or not. but if Noah’s Ark is found on Mt. Ararat then that would probably affirm a world wide flood around the time of humans developed to the the point where they can make a well-made boat. what impact does a flood have on modern theories on creation. is there even any scientific evidence of a world wide flood at one point?
 
The ark isn’t on Mount Ararat. According to scripture, it came to rest on the “mountains of Ararat” which are in modern day Iran. It would help to look in the right place.
 
green889 said:
I don’t know what the Catholic Church’s stance is on Noah’s Ark, whether the story can be taken literally or not. but if Noah’s Ark is found on Mt. Ararat then that would probably affirm a world wide flood around the time of humans developed to the the point where they can make a well-made boat. what impact does a flood have on modern theories on creation. is there even any scientific evidence of a world wide flood at one point?
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Do Catholics deny that the flood was world wide?
 
My view is that some elements of the story of Noah and the Flood are literal and some are figurative. So the existence of the Ark need not change our view of how the world was created.
 
SF3CHURCH said:
The ark isn’t on Mount Ararat. According to scripture, it came to rest on the “mountains of Ararat” which are in modern day Iran. It would help to look in the right place.
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Yes I know this but on the History Channel there was a documentary on where Noah’s Ark is and they showed some pretty convincing arguments and some interesting pictures that it might be on Ararat.
 
Ron_Conte said:
My view is that some elements of the story of Noah and the Flood are literal and some are figurative. So the existence of the Ark need not change our view of how the world was created.
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To follow up, also, I could be wrong, but my understanding is that “Noah’s Ark” is also a symbolic story for the creation of Baptism, after man sinned against God in the Garden of Eden and continued to sin after he was banished (Cain killing his brother, created evil in man). To get back into God’s good grace, just like in the present time, God had to make everything good again, by “Baptizing” the world with water. So by destroying mankind/creatures, saving Noah, then washing the world with water, God created the first act of initiation into a Christian life.

At least, that’s my interpretation. Not sure its completely right, I’m still learing myself. 🙂
 
Even if something ark-like is discovered it’s existence would not be proof of a world-wide flood. Upon it’s discovery you would not hear a resounding, “Oh! This means the Bible really is literally true!”
So an ark was found, how do you know it was Noah’s. Is his name inscribed in the planks?
There are other ancient flood stories - is this the vessel from one of those? How do you prove the whole earth was covered with water by discovering one ancient vessel? Do it’s dimensions, design or construction materials point conclusively to the fact that the entire globe was covered with water? That conclusion would be an interesting bit of logic.

My point is an actual discovery would raise more questions than it answers. Few archeologists would claim it was ‘the’ ark of Noah without some real hard evidence.
Pieces of a real big ancient boat won’t cut it.

As you pointed in your last post, the real discovery to be had is in the theological meaning of the text.

PeterK
 
joannazenobia said:
. So by destroying mankind/creatures, saving Noah, then washing the world with water, God created the first act of initiation into a Christian life.

At least, that’s my interpretation. Not sure its completely right, I’m still learing myself. 🙂
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World wide genocide as an initiation into Christian life. And some people wonder why religions are considered scary.
 
Dan_Parker said:
Do Catholics deny that the flood was world wide?
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Yes and no. It is permissible for us to see it literally or metaphorically. I think that there probably was some devastating flood that remained in the memories of all the Middle Eastern people as we see it in other cultures (I.E. Sumeria) and not only among the Hebrews. Whether or not it is historical really doesn’t matter much, to be honest, but it is my personal opinion that the story of the Ark is probably a foreshadowing of the Church… God punishes the sinners and the only thing to defend the righteous is a solid boat, which He Himself ordered to be built. The boat, of course, is the Church.
And just because something may have symbolic meanings does not rule out any possibility of it being historical, either.
 
From commentaries and bible notes I gather that one of the main characteristics distinguishing the Hebrew flood narrative from other ancient near east flood narratives is the morality factor. The flood was morally initiated. The sinful men of the world brought it on themselves. They, in essence, deserved it - since God can do no wrong. Harsh as it seems, it underlines the direct connection man has with God. God is not just a passive lofty observer, man is God’s main enterprise - this is in sharp contrast to other contemporary religious ideas. It would be interesting to know the details of the other flood narratives, especially regarding their explanation as to why the flood happened in the first place.

PeterK
 
PeterK said:
It would be interesting to know the details of the other flood narratives, especially regarding their explanation as to why the flood happened in the first place.

PeterK
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Just an fyi, the most common parallel I’m aware of is in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Utnapishtim is the parallel figure to Moses. Here’s an online translation of it:

piney-2.com/Gilgamesh.html
 
SF3CHURCH said:
The ark isn’t on Mount Ararat. According to scripture, it came to rest on the “mountains of Ararat” which are in modern day Iran. It would help to look in the right place.
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For Genesis 8:4:

The RSV-CE 2nd ed. says “mountains of Ararat.”

The Douay-Rheims says “mountains of Armenia.”
Code: 
         see:[newadvent.org/bible/gen008.htm](http://www.newadvent.org/bible/gen008.htm)
The New American Bible says “mountains of Ararat.”
Code: 
         see the footnote to v.4: [vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__PA.HTM](http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__PA.HTM)
Noah’s Ark landed in Armenia, not Iran. Mt. Ararat is in Armenia.
 
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